Contabo vs Raff: Pricing, Performance, and Operational Tradeoffs

Raff General Purpose no longer uses the old $4.99/mo 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan referenced in the previous version of this comparison. The current Raff General Purpose entry plan is $5.99/mo for 2 vCPU / 2 GB / 40 GB NVMe SSD. The current closest 4 GB plan is $9.99/mo for 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB / 80 GB NVMe SSD.

Contabo Cloud VPS 10 remains one of the strongest raw RAM-per-dollar offers in the budget VPS market: about €4.50/mo for 4 vCPU / 8 GB in its base European pricing. That means Contabo still gives more RAM and vCPU on paper at the lowest shared-VPS tier. Raff’s advantage is different: stronger tested per-core performance, lower CPU steal under sustained load, instant deployment, one integrated dashboard, unmetered bandwidth, and simpler operations.

In the benchmark data, Raff measured 2,266 Geekbench 6 single-core versus Contabo Cloud VPS at 1,163, making Raff about 1.95x faster per core. Raff also held CPU steal at 0.13-0.32% across a 26-hour endurance test, while Contabo climbed to 4.26% under load. Contabo wins on cheap RAM bundles, more global locations, and budget European VPS availability. Raff wins on consistency, deployment speed, network performance, support workflow, and operational simplicity.

Raff runs 10,000+ production VMs and is rated 4.5/5 on Trustpilot across 14 reviews. Contabo is also rated highly with a much larger review base and operates 11 global locations.

Contabo vs Raff: which is right for you?

• Need the cheapest RAM bundle? Pick Contabo. Its Cloud VPS line remains hard to beat for raw RAM and vCPU per euro, especially in European base locations.
• Need data centers outside the US? Pick Contabo. Contabo has 11 global locations; Raff currently operates from Vint Hill, Virginia.
• Need instant deploy with no document verification? Pick Raff. Contabo’s KYC verification can delay first deployment.
• Need consistent performance under sustained load? Pick Raff. Contabo Cloud VPS measured higher CPU steal under sustained load and request timeouts at higher load levels.
• Need one modern dashboard, not two parallel ones? Pick Raff. Contabo runs legacy and newer dashboard experiences in parallel.
• Need lower-level Europe-focused VPS pricing? Contabo’s low-tier European Cloud VPS pricing is attractive. Raff is stronger when US East performance, predictable operations, and consistent per-core results matter more than raw RAM-per-euro.

Contabo overview

Contabo is a Munich-based hosting provider founded in 2003. The company sells two compute product lines: Cloud VPS, which uses shared CPU cores, and Cloud VDS, which uses dedicated cores. The Cloud VPS line is the budget RAM-per-euro option, while Cloud VDS is the more consistent dedicated-core option.

Contabo operates 11 data center locations across Germany, the UK, the US, Singapore, India, Japan, and Australia. Its strengths are real: aggressive RAM-per-euro at the Cloud VPS tier, broad geographic footprint for a budget VPS provider, and a long operational history.

The trade-offs are also important:

• Account verification: Contabo may require KYC document verification before first VM provisioning. This can complete quickly or take longer depending on the case.
• Two dashboard experiences: Contabo has introduced a redesigned Customer Control Panel, but legacy workflows still exist for some actions.
• Bandwidth policy: Traffic is marketed generously, but Contabo’s public rules allow throttling for exceptionally high or disruptive usage.
• Location surcharges: Some locations outside the base European pricing can carry extra fees.
• Support workflow: First contact can involve the ContaBro virtual assistant before reaching a human agent.
• Refund policy: Contabo’s money-back guarantee covers the first contract within the stated window.

These trade-offs are why Contabo is genuinely cheap. Many buyers accept them, especially when raw RAM-per-dollar is the top priority.

Raff overview

Raff Technologies is a cloud infrastructure provider on owned bare-metal hardware. Raff runs AMD EPYC processors with NVMe-backed storage in a US data center in Vint Hill, Virginia. The platform covers virtual machines, S3-compatible object storage, snapshots, automated backups, VPC private networking, DDoS mitigation, REST API access, and a one-click app marketplace in one integrated dashboard.

Raff offers two compute lines:

• General Purpose uses shared-class compute for flexible everyday workloads. It now starts at $5.99/mo for 2 vCPU / 2 GB / 40 GB NVMe SSD. The current 4 GB General Purpose plan is $9.99/mo for 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB / 80 GB NVMe SSD.
• CPU-Optimized uses dedicated CPU resources and starts at $3.99/mo for 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB NVMe SSD. It also includes a 2 vCPU / 2 GB / 50 GB tier at $13.99/mo and a 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB / 80 GB tier at $19.99/mo.

Customers can start on General Purpose for web servers, development environments, and lighter production workloads, then move to CPU-Optimized when the workload justifies dedicated compute.

Raff is battle-tested at scale: 10,000+ production VMs run on the platform today, and Raff is rated 4.5/5 across 14 verified reviews on Trustpilot. Raff provisions quickly with no document-upload waiting room. The Raff dashboard, API, billing system, object storage, marketplace, and audit logs all run on the same infrastructure Raff sells — Raff runs on Raff.

Contabo pricing vs Raff pricing

The original version compared Raff General Purpose against Contabo Cloud VDS as the more performance-consistent Contabo class, while also acknowledging Contabo Cloud VPS as the cheaper shared-CPU product. That structure still makes sense, but the Raff prices must be updated.

The old Raff rows should no longer be used:

• Old: $4.99/mo — 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 50 GB
• Old: $9.99/mo — 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 120 GB
• Old: $23.99/mo — 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 240 GB
• Old: $43.99/mo — 12 vCPU / 32 GB / 360 GB
• Old: $69.99/mo — 16 vCPU / 64 GB / 480 GB

Current Raff General Purpose rows from the updated pricing table:

The previous 64 GB Raff row should be removed unless a current confirmed 64 GB General Purpose plan is supplied. Based on the latest pricing screenshots, the visible confirmed General Purpose plans go up to 16 vCPU HiMem / 32 GB / 640 GB at $92.99/mo.

About Contabo’s cheaper Cloud VPS line

Contabo also offers a shared-CPU Cloud VPS line starting around €4.50/mo for 4 vCPU / 8 GB in base European pricing. That is extremely aggressive on raw specs. If your priority is the cheapest RAM bundle and you are comfortable with shared CPU variability, Contabo Cloud VPS is a real competitor.

However, it is not the same operational class as Raff’s tested performance profile. Independent benchmark data in the original comparison showed CPU steal rising under sustained load and request timeouts at higher request rates. If performance consistency is the priority, Contabo Cloud VDS is the more relevant Contabo line. If raw RAM-per-euro is the priority, Contabo Cloud VPS is the right Contabo product.

Location pricing note

Contabo’s base European pricing does not always equal the final global price. Some locations in the US, Asia, and Australia can carry location surcharges. Raff pricing is not region-surcharged because Raff currently operates from one US East location.

Feature comparison: Contabo vs Raff

Compute

Raff General Purpose runs AMD EPYC infrastructure with deliberately controlled VM density. In the benchmark data, Geekbench 6 single-core measured 2,266 on Raff versus 1,163 on Contabo Cloud VPS, making Raff about 1.95x faster per core. Endurance testing recorded Raff CPU steal between 0.13% and 0.32% across 26 hours.

Contabo Cloud VDS runs dedicated cores. Contabo Cloud VPS uses shared cores and is much cheaper, but the benchmark data showed higher CPU steal under sustained load. That matters for web applications, APIs, queue workers, CI jobs, and other workloads where predictable compute behavior matters.

Networking

Raff includes unmetered bandwidth at 3 Gbps standard port speed on VM plans. The benchmark data measured 9,574 Mbps upload peak on Raff.

Contabo advertises generous or unlimited traffic depending on plan and product wording, but its public rules permit throttling for exceptionally high or disruptive usage. Port speeds are capped per plan. Contabo wins clearly on region breadth with 11 global locations; Raff currently has one US East data center.

Storage

Raff uses NVMe-backed storage with snapshots, automated backups, and volume workflows. Raff includes the first three automated backups per VM and supports on-demand snapshots.

Contabo Cloud VPS and Cloud VDS use NVMe storage. The original benchmark data showed Contabo performing strongly in sequential write, while Raff performed better in 4K random read and several application-relevant performance areas. Contabo snapshots and backup behavior depend on the selected product and add-ons.

Platform & ecosystem

Raff covers VMs, S3-compatible object storage, VPC networking, snapshots, backups, REST API, CLI, one-click app marketplace, and a Terraform provider on the public registry in one integrated dashboard.

Contabo provides API access, private networking, backups, custom images, object storage as a separate product, and a one-click image catalog. Contabo’s operational model is less unified because some workflows still involve different dashboard experiences or product-specific interfaces.

Operations and support

This is where the gap is operational, not only technical.

Provisioning: Raff provisions VMs quickly after account creation. Contabo may require KYC document verification before first VM provisioning.

Dashboard: Raff has one integrated dashboard covering VMs, storage, networking, backups, billing, and marketplace workflows. Contabo has historically operated both legacy and newer dashboard experiences.

Support: Raff provides 24/7 human support with average response under 10 minutes, included at every tier. Contabo’s support workflow can begin with ContaBro, a virtual assistant, before reaching a human agent.

Refunds: Both providers offer money-back guarantees with different terms and practical workflows.

Performance benchmarks: Raff vs Contabo

Pricing, geography, and operations matter more for many decisions, but benchmark data helps explain the trade-off.

Methodology

Raff General Purpose — internal benchmarks. Endurance test 26 hours, March 30-31, 2026. Single-pass baseline May 11, 2026. Benchmark VM: 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 50 GB NVMe. Current closest production plan: 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB / 80 GB NVMe SSD at $9.99/mo. Region: Vint Hill, Virginia. Tools: Geekbench 6, sysbench, fio, iperf3, redis-benchmark, continuous load harness.

Contabo Cloud VPS — independent benchmarks via VPSBenchmarks, trials December 2025 and April 2026. VMs: 4 vCPU shared / 8-12 GB on AMD EPYC 7282 at 2.8 GHz. Region: Lauterbourg, France. Tools: Geekbench, fio, iperf3, stepped-rate web load test.

Results

What this tells you

Per-core CPU is roughly 2x higher on Raff. Contabo wins multi-core aggregate at the lowest Cloud VPS tier because it ships more shared vCPU at a lower base price. Raff wins on random IOPS in this comparison, network peak, and CPU consistency under sustained load. Contabo wins on raw RAM-per-euro and sequential 1M write in this benchmark snapshot.

The practical difference: Contabo is excellent if you need the cheapest large RAM bundle and can tolerate shared-CPU variability. Raff is stronger if you need more predictable compute, faster per-core performance, stronger network throughput, and simpler operations.

When you should choose Contabo over Raff

• You want the largest RAM bundle at the lowest monthly price.
• You need data centers outside the US.
• You need low-cost European VPS pricing specifically.
• You need Contabo Cloud VDS’s dedicated-cores design in Europe.
• Your workload is sequential-write-heavy and can benefit from Contabo’s higher 1M sequential write result.
• You are comfortable with document verification, chatbot-first support, possible location surcharges, and bandwidth fair-use wording.

When you should choose Raff over Contabo

• You need to deploy quickly without document verification friction.
• You want consistent CPU performance under sustained load.
• You want unmetered bandwidth at 3 Gbps standard port speed.
• You want much higher tested network throughput.
• You want one integrated dashboard instead of multiple dashboard experiences.
• You want 24/7 human support with under-10-minute average response included at every tier.
• You want simple pricing with no region surcharge complexity.
• You want a Terraform provider on the public registry and a standard REST API.
• You want S3-compatible object storage, VPC networking, snapshots, backups, marketplace workflows, and VM infrastructure in one dashboard.

Migrating from Contabo to Raff

A typical migration takes 30-90 minutes for straightforward VM workloads:

1. Snapshot the Contabo VM in the customer panel and verify it completes.
2. Create a matching Raff plan. Match or exceed vCPU and disk; right-size RAM based on real usage.
3. Install the same OS on Raff. Raff supports standard Linux distributions and custom images.
4. Rsync application data and configuration files from Contabo to Raff, or use a temporary WireGuard tunnel for sensitive payloads.
5. Dual-write or replay logs briefly for stateful services. Raff supports private VPC networking to simplify cross-VM coordination.
6. Lower DNS TTL before cutover. Switch records during a low-traffic window.
7. Keep the Contabo VM running temporarily as rollback, then cancel.

Both Cloud VPS and Cloud VDS source VMs migrate the same way.

About Contabo

Contabo is a German hosting provider founded in 2003 and headquartered in Munich. The company operates data center locations globally and serves customers with Cloud VPS, Cloud VDS, dedicated server, web hosting, and object storage product lines. Contabo’s European base pricing is especially aggressive for RAM-heavy budget VPS buyers.

Conclusion: Contabo or Raff?

Raff and Contabo now need a more nuanced comparison than the old $4.99 Raff vs $4.90 Contabo headline.

Contabo wins on RAM-per-dollar, European low-tier VPS pricing, and global region count. If your priority is cheap RAM bundles or data centers outside the US, Contabo is a strong option.

Raff wins on per-core performance, CPU consistency, network throughput, instant provisioning, integrated dashboard experience, support workflow, unmetered bandwidth, and operational simplicity. The current Raff 4 GB General Purpose plan is $9.99/mo, not the old $4.99/mo, but Raff remains the stronger choice for teams that care more about predictable performance and operations than raw RAM-per-euro.

For teams that want consistent performance, quick deploy, one modern dashboard, simpler billing, and 24/7 human support included at every tier, Raff is the wiser choice.